This section will introduce you to TensorFlow, a large open-source library created (and used by) Google. The most common way to access TensorFlow is through Python, and “production level” AI and Machine Learning programs are commonly developed with TensorFlow. The term “production” means that the application is scaled up and robust enough to be used in high-volume corporate applications (like Google services). So far, this series has not mentioned potential concerns or dangers with powerful AI and machine learning. This section will introduce some of those concerns.
TensorFlow: an Industrial-Strength AI/ML Library
To see the scope and strength of TensorFlow, check out its 5 most-common general uses: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/top-five-use-cases-tensorflow-deep-learning-anna-flores/ . A second list of common uses adds the real-world examples of self-driving cars and even a sample image-recognition project to show how a real-world corporate project could begin: https://dzone.com/articles/tensorflow-for-real-world-applications.
Concerns & Potential Dangers in AI/ML: focus on jobs
Future Jobs: One of the first concerns of AI/ML is that more intelligent automation will replace the jobs of human workers. Will jobs disappear? Will new ones blossom? Here’s a 15-min overview of that fast-approaching threat to the social fabric as well as the individual worker. A possible down-to-earth solution is proposed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swB7Ivct8d8
Most people in the world want two things: a stable job and the dignity that is associated with that job. Here’s an 11-min TED interview with Roy Bahat, an AI venture capitalist, who has explored this issue for years. One of the best discussions of this critical issue: https://www.ted.com/talks/roy_bahat_and_bryn_freedman_what_is_the_meaning_of_work
Optional: Very little about AI and ML, but a long and relevant discussion about the near future of humanity: a 90-minute conversation between Yuval Noah Harari and Natalie Portman. If your have strong philosophical, historical, artistic, psychological, or women’s issue interest, then watch it. If you lean more to the technological or scientific perspective, it may not be for you. (I loved it.): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87XFTJXH9sc